CARDBOARD CATHEDRAL PROJECT APPROVED

T r a n s i t i o n a l C a t h e d r a l

A s y m b o l o f H o p e f o r t h e F u t u r e

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Transitional Cathedral:

Vision

- To build a temporary “Transitional Cathedral” at a

site in the central city, designed by world-renowned

‘paper architect’ Shigeru Ban

- to create a space for worship and community

activities

- To provide a venue for concerts, exhibitions and

civic events in the central city

- To encourage the return of residents and visitors

to the central city

- To strengthen the city’s international links with

Japan

- To be a beacon of hope for the rebuilding of

Christchurch


World-renowned architect

Cardboard isn’t a material usually associated with

cutting-edge building design, but Japanese

architect Shigeru Ban is changing that. His work

has become known the world over for innovation,

creativity, sustainability, beauty and positivity.

Ban is known as “an emergency architect”, which

means in crisis situations he creates safe temporary

structures. To date he has overseen the construction

of paper log houses in Kobe and Turkey, schools in

China, clusters of paper temporary shelters in Haiti

a temporary concert hall in Italy and ‘container

housing following the recent tsunami in northern

Japan, all soon after earthquake damage. Shigeru

Ban has visited Christchurch now seven times and

designed, pro bono, a Transitional Cathedral for the

city. The building will be iconic, designed to reflect

aspects of the past in a completely new vision for

the future.


Innovative and Sustainable

Cardboard is an ideal building material because it’s

readily available, recyclable and surprisingly strong.

“The strength of the building has nothing to do with

the strength of the material,” says Shigeru Ban. “Even

concrete buildings can be destroyed by earthquakes

very easily. But paper buildings cannot be destroyed

by earthquakes.” It’s also consistently low-cost.

“Normally after disasters the price of building

materials goes higher, but since this is not a traditional

building material, it’s very easy to get,” he says.

Ban’s temporary buildings are weatherproof, fire

resistant and secure, and have lasted for upwards

of 20 years. They can be transported easily and

deconstructed and recycled when their working life

is over.


Focus for the Community

Since the February earthquake, there are few

remaining venues for community activities and the

arts in the central city. We anticipate the Transitional

Cathedral will carry on the Cathedral’s tradition of

open hospitality and will be a focus for a number of

community ventures:

- A contemplative space for people to reflect

-A central venue for concerts, including CSO,

Southern Opera, the City Choir, Fiona Pears and

popular musicians like Dave Dobbyn and Bic Runga

- An exhibition space for local visual arts

- A centre for community ventures including a

vegetable co-op and healthy eating programme in

partnership with Canterbury DHB

- A venue for Civic Services which have included

ANZAC Day, the opening of the Antarctic Season,

the Floral Festival, regimental services and others.

The Transitional Cathedral will be one of the first

substantial “re-builds” in the wake of the earthquake

and welcome at a time when hundreds of other

buildings are being removed. It will be a symbol

of hope for a rebuilt, renewed Christchurch. It will

have an ‘after life’ as a a worship space for the St

John’s Anglican Church congregation following the

demolition of their church and buildings.


Community Resilience

Shigeru Ban’s buildings are usually constructed by

volunteers. When he designed temporary housing in

Izmit, Turkey after the 1999 earthquake, the whole

local community were involved in the build – even

children as young as five. They stuffed insulation into

the cardboard tubes. The build of the Transitional

Cathedral will be overseen by contractors, with

we hope, volunteer assistance. We would like to

build on the experience of community resilience

demonstrated by the Student Volunteer Army and

the Farmy Army and engage local people where

possible, to assist in the build. Shigeru Ban has

often involved students in his emergency projects,

giving them invaluable experience working on a

prestige project for a world-class architect. It is his

preference to pass on his skills and knowledge to

future generations – another form of sustainability.


Return to the Central City

The Transitional Cathedral will support the council’s

plans to promote a return to the central city. It

will complement the retail hub in Cashel Mall and

similar initiatives, as well as encourage visitors,

with a unique and innovative design. Shigeru

Ban’s buildings attract tourists. The paper church

he designed after the Kobe earthquake in Japan

was moved after 11 years to Taiwan, where it

remains today, more than 20 years after its initial

construction, as one of the most notable visitor

attractions in the country. It is recognised as a

fascinating structure of beauty and intrigue, as ours

will be.


Strengthening links

Christchurch already has a sister city relationship

with Kurashiki, in the Okayama Prefecture of Japan.

Employing Shigeru Ban’s design will help build

further links between Japan and New Zealand.

The Transitional Cathedral represents a sense of

solidarity and support for reconstruction from one

earthquake-ravaged country to the other.


Design

The design of the Transitional Cathedral is

deceptively simple. It is an A-frame structure based

on a concrete foundation, stabilised with shipping

containers. Shigeru Ban reports that the A-Frame is

the most stable shape for buildings in earthquake

zones.

The roofline rises and the building narrows towards

the sanctuary, creating a beautiful interior view

of the waves of cardboard columns as they bow

towards the altar. This is intended to welcome and

draw people in. The liturgical space is extremely

flexible – there is no fixed seating (the pews in the

model are intended for scale only). The body of the

Cathedral seats 500, and there is further space

for 200 in a ‘landing area’/ atrium at the entrance

end of the Cathedral. This is the space where it

is anticipated that hospitality will be provided.

Shigeru Ban has designed smaller container-spaces

lined with cardboard tubes accessed by ‘wave-like’

cardboard doors, and with ceiling funnels to allow

natural light.

In June of that year the Prime Minister’s

Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust agreed to

provide $50,000 funding to the Cathedral Chapter

for a feasibility study into the transitional Cathedral.

Shigeru Ban returned to Christchurch in late July

with a design and scale model. The capital cost for

the Cathedral building and an annex containing

offices, choir rehearsal rooms and additional

hospitality space has been estimated at $4-5million.

Warren and Mahoney will soon be commissioned to

undertake detailed design which will allow a more

concise costing to be arrived at. It looks likely that

the cost of the building will be covered in part from

the Cathedral’s insurances; mainly from a Material

Damage indemnity payout, also from Business

Interruption contributions. Extra fundraising will

be engaged in to cover costs related particularly to

the annex facility.

Construction firm Naylor Love have been appointed

‘Approved Contractor’ and we anticipate signing

a contract to commence construction in the near

future. Completion of the build is expected to be

sometime in November 2012.

The building is based on the proportions of the nave

of the original Cathedral. It is contextual, resembling

in shape wharenui on a marae. It also nods to our

heritage: the first church in the city was a simple

A-frame, erected near the Avon on Lichfield Street in

January 1851. The Transitional Cathedral will seat

700 people, and has a projected lifespan of well over

20 years. Urbis magazine has said, “The design is...

stunning. Built, I imagine this project would have the

quiet spirituality and beauty of many other towering

stone cathedrals, albeit in a completely different,

contemporary, way.”

http://urbismagazine.com


The Story so Far

At its meeting on 25 May 2011, the Cathedral

Chapter adopted the proposal for the Transitional

Cathedral and confirmed the concept. Shigeru

Ban was approached with a view to designing a

transitional Cathedral. He agreed to the project on

a pro bono basis and in June he and his assistant,

Yoshie Narimatsu, visited Christchurch, where they

were able to meet with chapter members, CPT and

the Bishop.


Local Involvement

The following local companies have offered their

services pro bono for the Transitional Cathedral

project. Architects: Warren and Mahoney – Peter

Marshall and Richard McGowan. The diocesan

architects WAM are fully involved and supportive

of the concept. Richard McGowan of WAM

has described Shigeru Ban as “an international

superstar”. Project Managers: Beca – Bob Blythe and

Johnny McFarlane. Structural Engineers: Holmes

Consulting – John Hare and Stuart Oliver. Materials

testing – Chris Allington / Fire Officer – Darin Millar.

Materials: Sonoco – Andrew Ward Cardboard

tube design and manufacture. Accommodation:

The George Hotel – Bruce Garrett. Providing pro

bono accomodation for Shigeru Ban and Yoshie

Narimatsu on their visits to Christchurch. Air

New Zealand - Providing sponsorship to facilitate

international travel.

w w w . c h r i s t c h u r c h c a t h e d r a l . c o . n z | 0 3 3 6 6 0 0 4 6


Safe as Houses, Sign of Hope

Paper may appear to be a fragile material, but it is

also able to bear substantial pressure. The same

could be said of the people who have suffered

from the Christchurch earthquakes. At first they

are vulnerable, grieving and struggling to put

their lives back together. But as time goes by they

prove their resilience, and in the end they find

themselves stronger than before. The Transitional

Cathedral presents an opportunity to tell the

story of Christchurch’s damaged heritage, while

building for the future; to provide a central venue

for community events and worship, to encourage

community resilience, attract tourists and build

links with Japan.

Through the Transitional Cathedral, we hope to

rebuild and strengthen the connection between

people and communities, and provide a symbol of

hope as we travel the road to recovery.

Contacts:

Fiona Summerfield

Diocesan Media Advisor

Ph 027 515 8224

[email protected]

Rev Craig Dixon

ChristChurch Cathedral.

Ph 021 239 0555

[email protected]

CARDBOARD CATHEDRAL PROJECT APPROVED

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